Author's Note: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump. Also, I know the name thing says Indara, but all the scans I've ever read used "Indra", so that's what I'm calling him.

NaRNaRNaRNaRNaRNaRNaRNaR

Uchiha Sasuke had been having a rough day. It wasn't quite as bad as last night, when his older brother Itachi had murdered their entire clan, but it was still a day he just wanted to be over. Shinobi from the village had been stopping by the room in the hospital he'd been moved too as soon as his comatose form had been found. They'd been asking questions, giving thanks that he'd been spared, and expressing regrets and sympathies over his loss. He didn't care about any of them; he just wanted them to shut up, go away, and let him grieve.

The six year old Uchiha definitely looked the worse for wear. His black hair was tangled and messy, tear trails were still fresh from his eyes (which had solid black iris', to his shame; maybe if he had the sharingan, he could have stopped Itachi, and his mom and dad would still be alive). His usual blue clothing had been replaced with a white hospital robe, and…well, he looked like a six year old boy who just saw his parents get killed right in front of him.

Thankfully, the day was finally winding down, which meant that soon the last loyal Uchiha would be too tired to stay awake and (hopefully) too tired to dream. He was currently lying down on the bed the hospital had apparently deemed better than his actual one back home, the sun having set a long time ago. Just a little longer, and he could finally close his eyes and truly rest, if only for a short while. He hoped his plan would work, and that he would be too tired for dreams. He knew that, if he did dream tonight, he'd just be reliving his parents' murder again and again and again and again. It would be just like being back in that genjutsu that Itachi had put Sasuke in, only this time it'd be his own mind that supplied the images.

Eventually, of course, his eyelids simply became too heavy to keep open, and Sasuke drifted off into the land of dreams.

NaRNaRNaRNaRNaRNaRNaRNaR

Sasuke blinked his eyes open, sitting up as he did so. Had he already woken up? It felt like he'd just been lying down to sleep a second ago; the night hadn't really passed that fast, had it? He hoped not. He was still tired and miserable and just didn't want to deal with all the stuff that being awake would inevitably bring.

Blinking the last of the drowsiness from his eyes (for now), the last loyal Uchiha looked around for a moment before realizing that he couldn't be anything but a dream. After all, there wasn't anywhere in the world that was just a blank, endless expanse of nothing with an ocean for a floor. He quickly got to his feet (he didn't quite know how he was standing just above the water's surface, but this was a dream so he rolled with it), thinking quickly. If this was a dream, why could he think so clearly and…unjumbled? Injumbled? Not all over the place.

Sasuke felt the hairs on his neck suddenly stand up on end. He didn't know how, but he knew he wasn't alone here. Someone else was with him, just out of sight. He twisted around quickly and spotted a man some ways away. The stranger was wearing a white robe, navy blue pant leggings and shirt sleeves poking out from underneath the robe's lower half and sleeves, respectively. There was a teardrop necklace pattern going along the open neckline, said opening reaching down to just above the middle of his chest.

Sasuke felt a sudden lump in his throat as his gaze reached the man's face. The man seemed to be wearing black eye-liner, though admittedly the young orphan couldn't tell if it was natural or not. The man's black hair was wild and slightly spikey, with two "tassels" going down the sides of his face. But what captured the young shinobi-to-be's attention the most was his solid black irises, filled with surprise, understanding, and…something else he couldn't quite identify. Anger maybe, but not directed at the younger of the two.

The stranger looked like an Uchiha.

The mysterious figure stared at Sasuke for a moment longer before finally speaking. "You are quite something, child. I never expected you to awaken me, let alone ever meet me face to face. Such a thing has never happened before."

Sasuke felt like running, but he stood his ground. This was just a dream. Nothing here could really hurt him. He wouldn't run away from himself. "Who are you?!"

The man nodded slightly. "A fair question, I suppose. I am Indra, son of Hagoromo. I am also a man who is able to sympathize with your plight, Uchiha Sasuke. After all, I too lost everything because of my brother."

Sasuke's eyes widened a bit at that statement. He understood? All the people who visited him and took care of him since the incident offered their sympathy and pity, but none of them really got what he was going through. Was it possible that this man did? At the very least, he believed Indra's claim about his brother. The look in his eyes conveyed a combination of pain and rage that couldn't be faked. The youngest living Uchiha knew; he'd seen the same look just this morning when he'd finally looked into a mirror.

Sasuke looked at his white-robed sympathizer for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. "How do you know who I am? How do you know what happened? What do you want?"

Indra paused for a long while, even closing his eyes for a moment. "I know who you are because I have been hearing your name all day, just as you have. I know what happened because that too has been repeated from the moment you woke until the moment you closed your eyes. As for what I want…I wish to be here for you, to speak with if nothing else. After all…" The strange man opened his eyes, and Sasuke nearly cried out in shock; those eyes were unmistakable. A red iris with a black circle in the middle, and three teardrop markings arranged in perfect unison…there was no doubt about it. Those were fully matured sharingan.

"…we're family. And unlike our traitorous brothers, I understand the value of family."

Sasuke couldn't breathe for what felt like an eternity, and before he realized what he was doing, he threw himself into Indra, hugging the other tightly as he tears began to fall once more. In that moment, it didn't matter that this was a dream. It didn't matter if Indra was telling the truth, or if the man was just a figment of his own mind created in a desperate attempt to keep itself from breaking in despair. All that mattered was that he had someone. Someone was truly there for him. Someone saw past Uchiha Sasuke, last of the Uchiha, and saw Sasuke, the little boy that had just lost everything.

He wasn't alone.